FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW

Review of The Untouchables (Ennio Morricone)

1987 A&M

2012 La-La Land

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if the memorable thematic highlights of Ennio Morricone's wildly varied score are enough to justify an inconsistent listening experience apart from the film.

Avoid it... if you expect those highlights to last more than fifteen combined minutes in what is otherwise a disjointed and occasionally grating score.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Untouchables: (Ennio Morricone) Brian De Palma's 1987 crime drama, The Untouchables, can be considered a great film if you're not a fan of actual history. The real story of Chicago kingpin Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and federal Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) was nowhere near as interesting as the depiction in the movie, which instead twists the characters into all new motives, situations, and outcomes for the purpose of entertainment. In the film, Ness and Capone are in direct conflict, the former busting the latter's liquor enterprise while also pursuing the charges of tax evasion against the crime boss. Ness employs an odd but heroic group of three other men to investigate and take down Capone, though it costs half the team of "Untouchables" their lives. While the significant historical inaccuracy of The Untouchables has always annoyed, it's an extremely fine execution of a fictional offshoot, with a few brilliantly harrowing scenes and more than its fair share of panache. Among the most highly praised and awarded aspects of the film were Sean Connery's supporting performance and Ennio Morricone's score, the composer earning BAFTA and Grammy awards for this foray into American cinema. The famed Italian composer was still relatively new to the Hollywood scene in the middle of the 1980's, and he travelled to the United States to meet with De Palma and write the score's themes for his consideration. The project was one of satisfaction for Morricone, whose career was about to feature an influx of high-profile American films. The composer had tackled a range of crime-related dramas in Europe, and he brought many of those sensibilities to The Untouchables while also obliging De Palma's desire for some Western-themed material. The basic tenants of Morricone's techniques in character themes and instrumentation remains, the softer, more personable ideas in the score highly reminiscent of the composer's standard methods. The same could be said of the suspense and chasing portions, which reflect his jauntier and more colorful handling of villains. The highly snazzy and heroic music for Capone and the gang of Untouchables, however, is a combination that makes this score quite unique, though, and these are the parts that brought the composer the bulk of his recognition for the work.

Morricone was remarkably comfortable writing music for particular concepts in a film and then allowing the director to choose or rearrange those recordings arbitrarily in the films. De Palma did that as well for The Untouchables, though he remained loyal to the composer's original purposes for each theme. As per usual, Morricone recorded a few variations his themes and allowed the director to apply them where most appropriate in the final cut, with only a handful of scenes actually scored specifically. (Duke Ellington music is the only major source use.) The breadth of tone and style in the themes for this score is its strength and weakness, with many of the themes attractive individually and all of them basically functional. But most of them have absolutely nothing to do with one another in instrumentation or personality, and Morricone makes no attempt to mingle their constructs or even develop each one through a satisfactory narrative arc in most cases. There are exceptions in the villain material, but The Untouchables is primarily a score of six rotating themes that are strung together in succession without much connection from scene to scene. Of those six themes, the main identity for the Untouchables group is the most impactful on screen and in memory. This final theme written by Morricone, supplied by De Palma's request after he later determined a need for heroic music with Western flair, was offered in nine versions by the composer, who was surprised when De Palma selected Morricone's least favorite option among the lot. It is, admittedly, a somewhat awkward melodic structure, its call and answer brass figures ascending without clear lines over bubbly string and woodwind rhythms. It is joined by flowery descending phrases by winds when most exuberant, as in "The Untouchables," lending the theme an almost overzealous, giddy enthusiasm. The idea does have, though, a really strong interlude sequence on strings that overshadows the primary phrases in appeal, and these passages are where redemption is realized for the theme. The Untouchables theme is plucked humorously on harp in "Ness Meets Wallace/Ness Meets Stone," the melody later revealed on flute as the team comes together. The full form debuts at 0:22 into "Victorious," builds anticipation in "Waiting for What?/Montana Intro," espouses an excessively optimistic fanfare personality in "The Untouchables," and enjoys a brief, humorous moment early in "Payne and Bowtie."

While casual viewers might most remember the brassy main Untouchables theme from the Montana sequence in "The Untouchables," the idea really earns its pay at the end of the film. A quietly noble and affable passage in "Here Endeth the Lesson," joined on album by a shorter variant that exists in "Here Endeth the Lesson (Alternate)," leads into a reprise of the bloated attitude of "The Untouchables" in "The Untouchables (End Title)" to close out the film. Morricone throws an interesting motif at the periphery of this theme for the playfully humorous aspect of the group, an intro sequence for tuba opening "Victorious" and returning at 0:11 into "Waiting for What?" For the deadly serious side of the group's endeavors, Morricone explores two dramatic themes. Whether both were necessary is debatable, for they provide roughly the same emotional response despite being performed by different instrumental sets. The Ness family theme is a very pleasant flute identity combining The Mission lyricism with Georges Delerue harmonics of the era. Beautifully conveyed in "Ness and His Family - Part I," this theme is quietly sensitive on celeste in "Goodnights," alternates between what sounds like a flugelhorn and flute in "Send Family Away, " generates some quick anticipation in "Waiting for What?," and switches to solo violin and plucked accompaniment in "Ness and His Family - Part II." The composer's theme for death, meanwhile, is a meandering saxophone identity that haunts Ness as he loses half his team by the end. It serves dual purpose for Malone's (Connery's) own past in "Ness Meets Malone," defines all of "A Mother's Plea" on clarinet, and remains somber on woodwinds in "Four Friends," where it achieves its most melodramatic depth on strings in the middle. That sound is reprised in "Malone's Death," with another, deeper string finish. Morricone provides a concert arrangement of the idea in "Death Theme," and Randy Edelman recorded a vocalized demo of a romanticized version of this theme, ironically renamed to "Love Theme From The Untouchables." On the other side of the score, Capone is treated to a flashy parody of high crime brass music of the era, and it's massively fun compared to the rest of score. A short but dramatic interlude sequence for strings quiets the attitude, but the rest of it is a combination of suave percussion and Italian instrumentation. This theme occupies all of "Al Capone - Part II (Vers. 2)" in high style but is more subdued in "Payne and Bowtie/Ness Study/Al Capone - Part I" with light honky tonk tact. A sleazier, more stereotypically Italian rendition exists in "Al Capone - Part II (Vers. 1)."

Morricone's material for the henchman, Nitti, and the chasing associated with Capone's goons is better integrated in The Untouchables, even if it is somewhat insufferable. The chase motif consists of skittish and unpleasant, staccato rhythmic figures for piano, strings, and drums, with burping woodwinds under drum pads that are highly annoying. Sometimes, as in "Murderous," the rhythm resorts to simple pounding. This motif debuts throughout "The Strength of the Righteous" to open the film, emerges briefly late in "Nitti Harasses Ness," is hinted early in "The Man with the Matches/Kill Bowtie" and explicitly returns late in the cue, and is dominant in bursts at the start of "Courthouse Chase" and continued obnoxious use is "On the Rooftops/Nitti's Fall." Nitti himself has the score's most intriguing theme, a ten-note descending harmonica motif often truncated to the first two or three notes. It slowly reveals itself in "The Strength of the Righteous," building from two notes to four, then seven to all ten. It's elusive on harmonica in "Nitti Harasses Ness," creepy to open "In the Elevator" before building again to the full melody, and suspenseful early in "The Man with the Matches." It matures in a rendition presented at the outset of "Courthouse Chase" over the chase rhythm and finally expanding away from just the harmonica early in "On the Rooftops." Outside of the themes, Morricone's unique moments in The Untouchables include the shrill string dissonance in "Warehouse/False Alarm" and "Nitti Shoots Malone," a rhythmic electric bass, drum, and piano figure in "Waiting at the Border," a generic suspense crescendo in "Surprise Attack/Dead Man's Bluff," and the memorable celeste lullaby in "Machine Gun Lullaby/Kill Bowtie" overtaken by generic fright in the famous Union Station stairway scene. That long cue is highly irritating (and an odd way to end original album), though it makes intellectual sense given the involvement of an endangered baby in the scene. Morricone recorded an alternate version of the cue without the celeste. The whole of The Untouchables is highly disjointed despite some enjoyable individual themes. Its personality changes from cue to cue, with minimal instrumental or structural cohesion to keep it all tethered. The long-available 1987 A&M Records album was horrifically out of order to suit the LP release, and La-La Land Records provided a limited expansion in 2012 that serves as the definitive presentation. The film arrangement sounds much superior to the album mix, which was left intact on that set due to respect for its award-winning past. The bonus cues, including Edelman's singing, are all worthy. The now out-of-print product commands high prices that are not justified by the enjoyable highlights but poor overall flow of the score.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

1987 A&M Records Album:
Total Time: 39:20

• 1. The Untouchables (End Title) (3:10) • 2. Al Capone (2:55) • 3. Waiting at the Border (3:46) • 4. Death Time (2:41) • 5. On the Rooftops (2:33) • 6. Victorious (2:09) • 7. The Man With the Matches (2:46) • 8. The Strength of the Righteous (Main Title) (2:26) • 9. Ness and His Family (2:45) • 10. False Alarm (1:12) • 11. The Untouchables (3:04) • 12. Four Friends (2:51) • 13. Machine Gun Lullaby (7:02)

---

2012 La-La Land Records Album:
Total Time: 112:13

CD 1: (55:26) • 1. The Strength of the Righteous (2:31) • 2. Ness and His Family - Part I (1:40) • 3. Warehouse*/False Alarm (1:51) • 4. Ness Meets Malone (1:21) • 5. Al Capone - Part II (vers. 2) (1:39) • 6. A Mother's Plea (0:55) • 7. Ness Meets Wallace*/Ness Meets Stone* (0:33) • 8. Victorious (2:10) • 9. Murderous/Goodnights (1:40) • 10. Nitti Harasses Ness (1:01) • 11. Send Family Away (1:00) • 12. Waiting for What?/Montana Intro (1:48) • 13. Waiting at the Border (3:47) • 14. The Untouchables (3:05) • 15. Surprise Attack/Dead Man's Bluff (1:15) • 16. Ness and His Family - Part II (1:17) • 17. In the Elevator (1:10) • 18. Four Friends (2:51) • 19. Payne and Bowtie/Ness Study*/Al Capone - Part I (0:52) • 20. The Man With the Matches/Nitti Shoots Malone* (3:04) • 21. Malone's Death (2:17) • 22. Machine Gun Lullaby/Kill Bowtie (7:41) • 23. Courthouse Chase (1:38) • 24. On the Rooftops/Nitti's Fall (2:55) • 25. He's in the Car/Here Endeth the Lesson (0:32) • 26. Death Theme (2:42) • 27. The Untouchables (End Title) (3:10) CD 2: (56:47) Original Soundtrack Album: • 1. The Untouchables (End Title) (3:11) • 2. Al Capone (2:56) • 3. Waiting at the Border (3:46) • 4. Death Theme (2:42) • 5. On the Rooftops (2:34) • 6. Victorious (2:09) • 7. The Man With the Matches (2:47) • 8. The Strength of the Righteous (Main Title) (2:28) • 9. Ness and His Family (2:45) • 10. False Alarm (1:12) • 11. The Untouchables (3:04) • 12. Four Friends (2:50) • 13. Machine Gun Lullaby (7:08) Bonus Tracks: (17:15) • 14. Mood Indigo (Source) (3:41) • 15. Al Capone - Part II (Vers. 1) (1:39) • 16. Machine Gun Lullaby - Part I (No Celeste) (4:58) • 17. On the Rooftops (No Saxophone) (2:34) • 18. Here Endeth the Lesson (Alternate) (0:16) • 19. Love Theme From the Untouchables** (4:07)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert of the 1987 A&M Records album album includes no extra information about the score or film. That of the 2012 La-La Land product contains details about both.

Copyright © 2022-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Untouchables are Copyright © 1987, 2012, A&M Records, La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/25/22 (and not updated significantly since).